Teacher pay threatens student achievement, expert testifies

AUSTIN — Texas teacher salaries are not competitive, and teaching quality has declined, which threatens student achievement, a Harvard-trained economist testified Tuesday in an ongoing school funding lawsuit trial.

Duke University professor Jacob Vigdor contends that Texas does not pay its public school teachers enough and believes a decline in the competitive job market for teachers hampers the state's ability to recruit and retain highly affective ones.

Statewide enrollment increased by 270,000 students from 2009 to 2012, even as the number of teachers dropped by 3,400, said Vigdor, professor of public policy and economics.

Vigdor said he would not be surprised to see a decline in student achievement follow a decline in teacher quality.

"This is a very worrisome situation. It behooves the state to think carefully about whether they are investing in the teacher labor market at a level that is consistent with the goals that they have espoused," he told state District Judge John Dietz.

Vigdor testified for the Texas School Coalition, one of four groups representing more than 600 school districts that have sued the state. The case includes claims that Texas is not spending enough money to meet academic standards and that the funding it does provide is not equitably distributed.

Below national average

Average Texas teacher salaries have fallen behind those of other high-growth Sun Belt states, Vigdor said. The average salary in Texas was $47,311 in 2009-10, below the national average of $54,965, and lower than 32 other states, Vigdor said..

"You are, in fact, getting what you paid for," Vigdor replied. "If you buy a pair of shoes that are very cheap and you discover that those shoes have worn out after you have worn them for a month, you could say that you got what you paid for - you just didn't pay for a high quality pair of shoes."

Under cross-examination by Assistant Attorney General Shelley Dahlberg, Vigdor conceded that some teachers quit to make more money in a new career or because teaching wasn't suitable for them. He also conceded he did not figure cost of living disparities when finding that the salaries were below average.

Drop low performers?

Education reform expert Eric Hanushek is set to testify next month for a group pushing more public school efficiency. Hanushek advocates getting rid of the bottom 5 percent to 8 percent of public school teachers who don't perform.

Doing so would not be practical, Vigdor said.

"Firing the bottom 5 percent on an annual basis means recruiting 15,000 extra teachers per year to replace them. This is on top of the roughly 40,000 teachers that you need to hire just to keep up with population growth and regular attrition," Vigdor testified.

"The state would have a difficulty bumping up from 40,000 to 55,000. The difficulties of recruiting highly qualified teachers would only get worse."